


the war’s gentle consequence

by waterbaby



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Finn-centric (Star Wars), Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22070572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterbaby/pseuds/waterbaby
Summary: “What? No. I’m willing to do a lot for the Resistance, but taking a mission knowing it’d kill me? Hell no. I’m too selfish for that. I want to come back to you too much.”“Really?”“Yeah, I mean, if you had asked me when I first signed on if I wanted to take a suicide mission I probably would have said yes, but that was just because I didn’t really know what I was doing. What I was fighting for.”“I’m guessing you know now?”“I’m fighting for you.”“Oh.”
Relationships: Finn & Leia Organa, Poe Dameron & Leia Organa, Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 4
Kudos: 80





	the war’s gentle consequence

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from danez smith’s incredible poem “acknowledgements”  
> this is just sweet established domestic relationship shit. enjoy :)

Finn had always liked routines, liked the sureness of knowing what was going on, the certainty of his daily tasks, his meals promptly at 0700, 1300, and 1800, his sleep a reliable reprieve at the end of each day. It was the one thing he missed about the First Order. The relative calmness of his regimented life.  
And it wasn’t like he’d ever considered if he had made a wrong choice in defecting and rescuing Poe. He’d take the hectic, unpredictable life of the Resistance over the First Order any day. He just...wanted a little more stability. A little taste of the calm life he hoped to have with Poe once the war ended.  
So he took what he could get, found routine in the cook at mess he smiled at every day, the young trainee, a Twi’lek named Eonda, he sparred at the end of every tactical training, the nudge he gave BB-8 out of his charging port on his way to the fresher each morning. The fights he had with Poe anytime either of them were assigned even a slightly risky mission.

“I’m gonna volunteer for recon. Either that or the backup. I’ll ask the general about it tomorrow.”  
“Like hell you are.” Finn said. He’s gotten an assignment that morning, a fairly routine one, something something First Order spies something follow them, gather intel something shouldn’t take more than a few days. It was in the Outer Rim, a trading town where Finn knew the locals were friendly to the Resistance. He probably wouldn’t even have to be undercover the full time. Finn didn’t expect it to be difficult.  
“I’ve been to Florrum before, I know the town, I can get you in and out faster than anyone else on this base and you know it.”  
“That’s not the point.”  
“Then what is?”  
“That it’s a three day mission, General Organa already has all the intel we need, and I’ve been to Florrum too, Poe. I’m not fighting with you on this.”  
“I’m not fighting.”  
“You’re being petulant.”  
“Strategic.” Poe shot back.  
“Strategically petulant.”  
Poe swiped a holopad from his desk and keyed in his code.  
“I’m at least gonna ask her if she needs anything from me.”  
“She won’t. Why are you so worried?”  
“Well, Finn, I really don’t know. Could it be that I hate seeing my boyfriend take a mission that could have shoddy intel, or false coordinates, or a million other things that could go wrong?”  
“General’s running this mission. Do you really not trust her?”  
“When it comes to your safety, the only people I trust are me and you.”  
“Well, then, trust me.” Finn pleaded, taking the holopad and setting it back on the desk. He pulled Poe down so they were sitting side by side on the bed. Early-afternoon sun was filtering through the glazed window in Poe’s room. Finn watched it settle on the wall. One of Poe’s plants, a long vine with lush flowers that dripped nectar onto the floor, seemed to come alive, stretching its veined leaves. Finn leaned his head on Poe’s shoulder. “Just trust that I know what I’m doing.”  
“I do, kriff, Finn, I do. I just know that you would have taken this mission anyways, even if it was a suicide mission, because you care about the Resistance and-”  
“I wouldn’t have taken it if it was a suicide mission.” Finn said. He took his head off Poe’s shoulder, looked him in the eye. “Where’d you get that idea?”  
“Um, I dunno, I just figured…”  
“What? No. I’m willing to do a lot for the Resistance, but taking a mission knowing it’d kill me? Hell no. I’m too selfish for that. I want to come back to you too much.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, I mean, if you had asked me when I first signed on if I wanted to take a suicide mission I probably would have said yes, but that was just because I didn’t really know what I was doing. What I was fighting for.”  
“I’m guessing you know now?”  
“I’m fighting for you.”  
“Oh.”

  
And Finn never got tired of looking at Poe, of seeing all the different expressions on his face, but his favorite was probably the look of gentle wonder, eyebrows furrowed, mouth slightly ajar, his lips curved in a half-smile like he couldn’t believe his luck. He liked looking at it, liked kissing it even more, so he did, lips landing on his cheekbone and dragging to his mouth, where Poe met him eagerly, opening his mouth and running his tongue along Finn’s full lower lip. Finn pulled back a little to lay himself back on the bed, confident that Poe would follow. He did, his expression shifting from wonderment to slightly dazed adoration, which had to be Finn’s second favorite.  
Finn had the idle thought of how this, too, was a routine; every time they seemed to be together in Poe’s room, even if they were working, it was interrupted by kissing, maybe more if he was lucky, and no matter what else he was working on or worried about it seemed not to touch him when he was in the confines of Poe’s messy bunk.  
“So when you say you’re fighting for me…”  
“You just want me to say I love you.”  
“Always.” Poe smiled. His forearms bracketed Finn’s head as he rested above him.  
“I love you.” Finn whispered the words into Poe’s mouth, confident that if Poe couldn’t quite hear them he could feel them.  
“I love you too. I’m serious though, what changed? Between fighting just to fight and fighting for me, or for us, I guess.” Poe had moved off of Finn and was on his side, facing him, watching his throat work as he swallowed. Having Poe watch him thrilled Finn, almost more than the kissing. It never failed to amaze him that Poe found him worth observing.

  
“It was pretty soon after I joined. Even before we got together. I...was sitting with you at mess, and Rey was there, and Snap and Jess, and I just had this...vision, almost. And I could see us all, and we were sat around a table, but I knew somehow that it was a table in our home, like our home, yours and mine, which seemed crazy at the time because I just thought I had a crush on you. But there it was, you and me in our home, and Rey and Snap and Jess, and I had this sense that the war was over and we were safe. We were happy.” Finn turned to meet Poe’s eyes. “And then, over the next few days, that vision kept coming back to me, except there were different pieces of it, like, once I just had this thought of waking up early and making you caf every morning, or smoking spice together at your dad’s house, or going on trips to Naboo. And I couldn’t tell if they were daydreams, or, or prophesies, or what, but what I did know is I wanted that. And I was willing to do whatever possible to have it.”

  
The wonder was back on Poe’s face. Finn could feel tears in his eyes, and the visions were returning as he spoke about them, vivid as ever, so real he could nearly hear Rey’s laughter as Snap made a toast, could smell the caf and early morning Yavin rain. His whole body seemed to ache with wanting, with yearning.

  
“And then once we got together, once I started to realize that I loved you, I just knew that we could have all that if I was careful, if I worked for it and kept us alive to see this through.” the tears in Finn’s eyes had started to make their way down his cheeks, over the bridge of his nose, and Poe was crying too, tears that Finn wiped with the calloused pad of his thumb. “So, yeah, I’m not doing any suicide missions. I’m in this for the long haul, buddy.”  
“Fuck, Finn.” Poe pulled on Finn’s shoulder, tugging him so Finn’s face was tucked in his neck. He pressed wet kisses against Finn’s hair. “I love you so much.”  
They stayed like that for a long time, quiet, occasionally kissing whatever bit of skin they could reach, or rubbing gentle circles where their hands rested. The new admission hung tender in the room.

  
Finn listened to the beat of Poe’s pulse for a while, then realized how much nicer it would feel under his lips, so he pressed a chaste kiss to the side of Poe’s neck. Finn took it as an invitation when Poe let out a long breath and tilted his chin back, so he kissed his neck again, pressing his tongue against his skin and tasting sweat and campfire and the slight tang of recycled air from his X-wing. Poe scooted down the bed a little and turned to meet Finn, catching his lips in a deep kiss and running a hand down Finn’s side.  
“You don’t have anything going on tonight, right?” Poe asked, pulling back a little.  
“Mmm, um, yeah, I have an intel meeting at 1900.”  
“What time is it now?”  
“Dunno.”  
Poe let out a good-natured groan and reached over Finn to the holopad that was on his desk, and lifted it slightly to see the time display. “Fuck.”  
“What?”  
“It’s 1843.”  
It was Finn’s turn to groan, then he rolled onto his back, contemplating whether it was worth it to get up.  
“Do you have to go?”  
“Yeah. It’s for the Florrum mission, I think Leia’s said something about rearranging the assignments a little. Force, if she makes me go undercover for the whole mission…” Finn trailed off, then with a slight, decisive nod sat up and swung his legs off the bed, slipping his feet into his boots and leaning over to lace them up. Poe rolled towards him and curled a little around his back.  
“Closed meeting?”  
“I don’t think so. There’s nothing especially sensitive. Why?”  
“I want to come.”

  
Finn finished lacing his first boot with a tug, then straightened up. “You’re not gonna ask the general if she has an assignment for you, right?”  
“No, no, I’ll just feel a lot better about this if I know what you’re doing.”  
“Okay.” Finn tied his other boot as Poe sat up, kissed him on the shoulder, then his cheek, and went to find a clean shirt.  
“But if she offers me anything, I’m gonna take it.” Poe said as he pulled on his shirt. Finn opened his mouth to protest, but Poe beat him to it. “Because if she’s the one to tell me that she needs help, then I’m doing it for the Resistance, and not because I want to spend every waking moment near you, so it’s fine. Right?”  
“Are you saying you don’t want to spend every waking moment with me?”  
“Finn, buddy, I don’t want to spend every waking moment with you. I want to spend every moment with you.” Poe said as he laced up his own boots.  
Finn was used to these casual admissions of love, of yearning, but he still loved how they made him feel safe and loved in a place within him that the First Order had tried their damndest to destroy.

  
“‘Sides, if this mission is as low-risk as you say it is, wouldn’t it be kinda fun if we did it together? Yanno, went undercover, snuck around a little, you could be the intergalactic weapons trader and I could be the bartender that catches your eye…” Poe raised an eyebrow.  
“You’re such a horndog.” Finn laughed, although the possibility that Poe presented was...intriguing, to say the least. He remembered the last time they had gone on a mission together, gathering intel at some casino in a rich trading town Finn had forgotten the name of. He and Poe were both undercover, and that night had had to pretend they didn’t know each other, even as they were “introduced” by drunk First Order sympathizers they had made the acquaintance of. Finn had worried Poe was going to blow it with the way he kept looking at Finn from under his eyelashes. Like he was trying to get them caught.  
But they didn’t get caught, and Finn knew Poe liked the risk of it, the possibility of being found out, and even though it scared the shit out of Finn..  
He kind of liked it too.

  
“So whaddaya say?”  
“About what?” Finn asked, looking for his jacket.  
Poe plucked it from a pile of clothes on the floor and helped Finn into it. “I don’t specifically ask for an assignment, but I’ll just be there, and if she offers me anything, I’ll take it.”  
“I feel like this is how you got your assignment on that last mission we did together.”  
“It definitely is.”  
“So you’re going into this meeting with the expectation that you will get an assignment.”  
“Absolutely.”  
“And nothing I say will change your mind.”  
“Nope.”  
Finn sighed. “Alright. Let’s get going, then.”  
-  
The meeting was fairly par for the course; Leia reconfigured the squad a little so positions were more suited to individual strengths, Finn needed to be undercover only for the first day, then he could go to a different part of Bo Kai that had strong ties to the Resistance and Republic, and the fact that the mission was low-profile meant that they could get in and out fairly quickly. That was a relief to Finn. He had been a little worried that the change of plans meant the Resistance wanted the capture of the First Order spies, which was always difficult considering the First Order had a policy of “never let them take you alive”  
All in all, Finn was pretty happy.

  
They had finished the official meeting and were getting ready to leave, Finn typing up some last minute notes and requests to their transport pilot, when Leia approached them and took a seat next to Poe.

  
“Wasn’t expecting to see you here, Commander Dameron.”  
“Figured I’d come along for moral support, General.”  
“I think Finn’s able to hold his own, don’t you?”  
“Well, you know how I worry.”  
Leia smiled at the joke. “I’m guessing you came because you wanted to see if there was an open assignment you could take.”  
Finn looked up from his holopad at that, stifling a quick laugh. He knew the general would see through Poe.  
“What? Me? No way, General, I’m perfectly happy helping around base for the time being.”  
“Really? Well, that’s too bad, because I was going to ask if you were available to help Finn arrange transport through Bo Kai, since I know you’ve been before and have a fair amount of knowledge of the local area. I understand if you want to stay on base, though, considering you don’t have another scheduled mission until next cycle.”  
Finn looked between Poe and Leia, aware that, despite the banter, Poe was inevitably going to take the assignment and go with him. Finn was a little surprised to realize he was looking forward to it.

  
“You know I’m always available if you need me, General.”  
“Do you want the assignment?”  
“Yes.”  
The General smiled. “Alright then. I’ll send BB-8 your instructions. Transport leaves in two days.”  
“Thank you, General.” Poe was beaming. Leia nodded and made to leave. Before she reached the door, she turned to face them.  
“Oh, and, Finn?”  
“Yes, General?”  
“Keep that one out of trouble.”  
Finn smiled. “Will do. Thank you.”  
Leia nodded. “May the Force be with you both.”

-  
So Finn prepared to leave, packed a haphazard satchel with clothes that would help him blend in on the desert planet-a light poncho, some loose pants, a little bottle of oil that Wana, one of the rookie pilots, said would help protect his hair against the dry air. While he packed, Poe alternated between lazing on his bed and double-checking their route through Bo Kai on a holopad.

  
“Not to ruin our luck or anything, but this is gonna be so easy. Kriff, and Bo Kai, okay, it sucks, it’s like every other shitty Outer Rim trading town, but there’s this night market I’m gonna take you to, and they have these weird dumpling things, I think it’s a local deal, but they’re hot and kinda spicy and dripping in monbalsa syrup, I could eat my weight in those. How’s your transport? I know it was kinda touch and go, I think that’s just how it is, these Outer Rim fuckers can’t organize anything to save their lives. I figure once we meet up we can just rent a couple sandhoppers, those are everywhere, we’ll blend in pretty easy, and by then you’ll be done tracking down those First Order bastards, right? Awesome. Finn, buddy, I cannot tell you-”

  
“Are you nervous or something?” Finn had finished packing his bag and hung the strap from a hook on the back of his door.  
“No. Why would you think that?” Poe was looking at Finn, genuine confusion on his face. He had a little stubble darkening his chin, some sweat and grease accumulated along his hairline. The first two buttons of his green shirt were undone. His eyes were bright, yet tired-looking, like he had been worrying, but didn’t want Finn to know. Finn thought he was beautiful.  
“You talk when you’re nervous.”  
“I talk all the time, pal.”  
Finn rolled his eyes, recalibrated, “Fine, you deflect when you’re nervous.”  
“Oh, I do, do I?” Poe stretched, putting his arms behind his head, feigned total ease. but Finn could still see the tiredness and anxiety in his eyes.  
“You do,” Finn walked to the bed, gesturing at Poe to scoot over, and lay down, stretching a little to relieve some of the tension in his back. “And I’m nervous too, yanno. I mean, there’s always gonna be risk, no matter how low-profile the mission is or how well we prepare. But I’m gonna do my damndest to make sure nothing happens to either of us.”  
“I know,” Poe looped an arm around Finn’s shoulder. “I just can’t wait for this war to be over.”  
“Yeah, me too.” Finn said, and they fell asleep like that, neither daring to acknowledge how close they actually were to the war being over, for fear they would ruin it somehow.  
-  
The flight to Florrum was uneventful enough, long, but calm, aboard an old repurposed freighter the Resistance had gotten ahold of. Since the airspace around Florrum was neutral and the planet itself didn’t have much in terms of a First Order presence, it was easy to find a quiet place just outside of town to land and do a final briefing before they spread out and began to track down the First Order spies.

  
“So basically, we’re looking for is two humans, which will be difficult considering we’ve got next to nothing in terms of physical description, but hopefully we can find them today and spend the rest of our time on their tails. I know I don’t need to tell you this, but don’t engage, we want to have this be as quiet as possible. Even though the locals are friendly, and even though we want to build a rapport as a base for a future alliance, I wouldn’t advertise the fact that you’re Resistance unless absolutely necessary, because if those spies find out we’re here and alert the First Order-”  
“-we’re fried?” Sey-Kaan, a fellow Stormtrooper defector, asked.

  
Finn shrugged. “Pretty much. Our goal is to get our intel, establish relations with some locals, and get out, but the General already told y’all that. Everyone has the rendezvous point?” There were various nods and murmurs of assent. “Good. In that case, I’ll see you in a few days. May the Force be with you all.” The rest of the group began to break off, collecting their weapons, concealing blasters and daggers, putting on robes and dented Mandalorian helmets. Finn grabbed his blaster from the ship, pulled his poncho on and put the hood up, then made his way into the city.  
-  
Bo Kai reminded Finn of Jakku in the sense that there seemed to be trading and haggling everywhere, scavengers hawking their finds off of hand-woven blankets, craftspeople selling little dolls, bowls, jewelry, carved charms that they claimed warded off Sith curses. But where there was desperation and hopelessness on Jakku, in Bo Kai there seemed to be more quiet satisfaction, people leading these lives not because they were forced to, but because they were continuing family traditions or had wanted to live simply in a place where the war couldn’t reach them. There was more of a sense of civilization, of community, kids learning trades along their parents, laughing girls with bright red cloth wound around their noses and mouths darting through the stalls and shops, merchants telling them to knock it off with indulgent chuckles.

  
What excited him most, though, was how the thought of him and Poe having a life like this slipped so seamlessly into his mind. There were couples, selling together, working together, slipping in and out of homes, cooking dinner, the smell of spicy roasted bantha reaching him from yellow clay buildings. He was glad Poe was coming, that he would be able to see him, be with him in this place that made him yearn so completely for a life that seemed increasingly tangible with each battle won, each planet liberated, each spy they found out.

  
With that, he shook his head, disregarding thoughts of Poe. There’d be plenty of time for that, later. He adjusted the hood over his hair, pulled a scarf over his mouth, and walked deeper into the town, to a district populated with a few seedy cantinas where he figured if he couldn’t find the targets, he could at least find some information.  
The first cantina he walked into didn’t seem to have what he was looking for, just some mercenaries and bounty hunters, a few dishonest-looking traders, smoking spice out of pipes and speaking in hushed tones.

  
The second was more lively, with a small house band, people yelling over games of sabaac, a fight that broke out in the back that was quickly ended by a burly Wookie hauling the guilty parties outside. Finn went to the bar, ordered, and was surprised to see that, aside from the bartender and a group of surly Twi’leks, he was the only one there.

  
“Slow night?” he asked the bartender.  
“Sabaac night. Most everyone else is either playing or betting. You want in on anything?” she asked, sliding his drink down the bar.  
“No thanks. I have rotten luck.”  
She smiled. “Same here. One of my buddies has been cleaning up, though, by betting on the same games as those two-” she gestured at two men sitting stiffly in deep blue and green cloaks at one of the tables “-so if you’re looking to make some quick credits…” she trailed off. Finn looked at the men. Clean shaven, slightly rumpled from lack of sleep, he guessed, clearly uncomfortable. The spies. He turned back to the bartender, who was leaning with her forearms on the counter. The leather band around her wrist was burned with the old Rebellion symbol. She gave him a quick, knowing nod.  
“Leia’s an old friend.” she said quietly before she tapped the counter twice and straightened up to serve the Twi’leks.

  
Finn smiled. Leia had friends everywhere. He sipped his drink, glancing every few seconds at the men, who were doing a shit job of being inconspicuous, if Finn was being honest. He got comfortable in his stool, realizing that he’d be here for a while, content with the fact that the spies had been found so easily. It’d be an easy task to trail them, chart their location, and send the coordinates to the others. He was contemplating how he’d likely be able to get to sleep earlier than expected when someone slid in the seat next to him and ordered a neat shot of Kashyyyk whiskey. He started a little at the familiar voice.  
“Sabaac not your game?” Poe asked, leaning against the bar, cocky and smiling and-

  
“You’re not supposed to be here.” Finn whispered.  
“Issues with my transport so change of plans, I don’t know you, so just kriffing play along,” Poe said through a gritted smile, then, in his regular voice, “Can I buy you a drink?”  
“I’m good. You can tell me your name, though.”  
“Kar Hessel. Yours?”  
“Lee Da’af.”  
“Good to meet you, Lee.”  
“Good to meet you too, Kar. You bet?”  
“A little. Any good games tonight?”  
“There’s one I’ve been keeping my eye on.”  
“Oh?”  
Finn nodded. “You see those guys in the cloaks?”  
“Yeah.”  
“They seem to be doing pretty well.”  
“Hmm. I’ll bet.” Poe gave Finn a half smile, looked him up and down. Their heads were close together, and they were almost whispering. To everyone at the cantina it probably looked as though they were flirting. It thrilled Finn, the unexpected excitement of Poe with him, the possibilities that entailed.  
“You seem new. This your first time on Florrum?”  
“I’ve been before, but it’s been a while.”  
“Have you had a chance to see the night markets over in the Vorthian District?”  
“Not yet. I’m pretty much just here for business.” Force, but Finn was having fun, flirting, being coy, watching Poe look surprised at how well he was playing the game.  
“Shame,” Poe finished his drink, his throat working as he swallowed the fiery liquor. “You here for a while, Lee?”  
“A few days.”  
“Mind if I ask what your business is?”  
“Let’s just say I take care of myself.”

  
Poe grinned, a wide, incredulous smile that seemed to say _you coy little nerfherder_ before he gave a measured smirk and said, “I’ll drink to that.” and ordered another round.  
Finn sipped his drink, careful to not let the stuff get to his head too fast-he was still on a mission, after all, and he was still keeping one eye on the spies.

  
“What about you, Kar? What brings you to Bo Kai?”  
“Oh, visiting a friend. I’m headed to the market now, though. Would you like to come?”  
“I need to check something, but, yeah, I’d love to.”  
Poe gave one of those genuine smiles again, nodded, and said, “Well, you know where to find me.”  
Finn nodded, grabbed his satchel, and ducked outside, going around the corner to make sure he wasn’t seen. He took his holopad out and quickly typed out a physical description and location for the spies that he sent to the rest of the group before he went back inside.  
“So are we going to the night market?”  
“Not yet. But I’m gonna show you something I think you’ll like.” Poe pushed himself off his stool, leaving a few credits for the bartender, who gave them a quick two fingered salute as they left. Finn spared a glance at the spies. They were still stuck at the sabaac table, and he was confident that someone else would take over tracking them for the rest of the evening.  
“That’s pretty bold, don’t you think?”  
“What is?” Poe asked, taking his hand as they went back out into the tent-shaded stalls of the market.  
“Assuming you’ll know what I like.”  
“I have a hunch,” Poe had led them into a stall occupied by an elderly man selling various stone and metal knives, bits of bone worked into the handles to make subtle designs. Finn thought they were beautiful. Poe still had his hand, was gently rubbing the back of it with his pointer finger. “What do you think of these?” his voice was softer, something tender and eager in it, and Finn sensed that he was speaking to him, not as Kar, not even as Poe, the hotshot pilot, but as Poe, the person who loved him, who wanted him happy.

  
“I love them. They’re incredible.” and they were. The remarkable thing about them was they didn’t seem like weapons at all. Finn could easily imagine someone slicing roots for medicine or whittling a toy for a child with one of these. It seemed impossible that something so carefully made could ever be used to inflict pain.  
“Which one’s your favorite?”  
“Why do you want to know?”  
“Just tell me,” Poe let out an exasperated, fond sigh. “Stop being difficult.”  
“This one, then.” Finn let his fingers trail over a blade with a slight curve, green-tinged metal, a rust-red handle that had an inlay of Hosnian ivory, creamy white and smooth to the touch. The leather sheath next to it had beads of the same ivory stitched to it, obviously made with the utmost care.  
Poe spoke quickly to the man, a few words in the local dialect, before he reached in his pocket for a handful of credits and passed them to his wrinkled hand with a quick nod of thanks. He took the knife and sheath off the table and handed them to Finn.  
“Wait. How much did that cost?”  
“ _Don’t worry about it_.” Poe replied in Yavinian, “ _Think of it as an anniversary present. A late anniversary present_.” he slipped the knife into the sheath then tucked it into Finn’s satchel. “ _Besides, if you’re that worried about it, you can pay me back later tonight_.”  
“ _You’re impossible_.” Finn groaned as they walked out of the stall, into the rapidly cooling desert night.  
“ _You love me_.”  
“Sure, let’s go with that.” Finn took Poe’s hand as they strolled towards the night market.  
-  
The night market wasn’t too different from the regular market, except for one key discrepancy-everyone was drunk. Everyone. Finn had not seen this many intoxicated people since Chewie had found the spice hidden on the Falcon after Crait. But as much as he wanted to enjoy himself, drink and get handsy with Poe, they were still both on a mission, so they went straight to get the dumplings Poe had promised, and they sat at a low, dusty table, eating and getting syrup on their hands as they people-watched.  
“These are so kriffing good.” Finn said around a mouthful of sticky dough.

  
“I know, right?” Poe took a bite. “These should be illegal. There should be a First Order warrant out for these things.”  
Finn swallowed, licked the syrup from his lips. “You know what I think?”  
“What?”  
“You’re gonna think this is the best idea ever.”  
“Just tell me!”  
“We should get another order.”  
“I wholeheartedly agree.”  
-  
After they finished eating, they wandered aimlessly around the market for a while, hand in hand, looking around, Finn, unknowingly, wandering into a tent where the seller told him, _could give you something for you and your man, no_? before he said a quick, “Uh, no thanks” and rushed out, trailing a laughing Poe behind him.  
Eventually, though, they both got a little tired, and Poe kept looking at Finn from under his eyelashes, and Finn looped an arm around Poe’s shoulders, biting gently at the skin over his pulse and that’s when Poe said, “Alright, we should get going.” and it was Finn’s turn to laugh as a flustered Poe half-dragged him to his rented room.  
-  
The room was cheap, the clearest evidence of which was the door that stuck, and Finn couldn’t decide whether to curse or bless it as Poe struggled with the lock. On the one hand, they were wasting precious seconds as Poe swore and fiddled with the key, but on the other hand, he was really enjoying pressing himself to Poe’s back, hand smoothing across his shirt, wandering lower and lower until…

  
“Fucking finally.” Poe sighed as the door swung open and he and Finn half-tumbled into the sparsely furnished room.  
“Damn. Resistance keeping you on a tight budget?” Finn asked, looking around. Poe rolled his eyes and kissed him, muttering something in Yavinian under his breath that Finn couldn’t understand.

  
“What did you just say?” Finn tumbled backward onto the bed, Poe resting his palms on either side of his head. He pulled Poe into a biting kiss as he rolled them over, reveling in the way Poe went pliant, his eyes rolling before he focused back on Finn and, with a sharp half smile, said, “Looks like you’re about to find out.”  
-  
They spent the night together, and in the morning, Finn woke up first, got up on one elbow to see the milky sunrise outside the grimy window. On the street below, people were already going about their day, calling out greetings and goodbyes, declarations of love and friendship and promise, and the sound of ten thousand lives being lived in peace filled him with fierce longing. Poe made a soft noise in his sleep and Finn sank back down into bed, not wanting to wake him. He wanted to live in that moment, and when Poe woke up, grinned at him in that lazy, half-awake way he always did, Finn ached, couldn’t help but think of the day when his life could simply be this, him and Poe, safe and happy and together.


End file.
